Duke HC Talks Potential CFP Snub, ACC Champion Should Be In 'This Year and Every Year'

After Duke's upset win over Virginia in Saturday's ACC championship game, head coach Manny Diaz made it clear that he feels the Blue Devils deserve a spot in the College Football Playoff.

The win over Virginia improved Duke's record to 8-5, well behind other CFP-eligible teams, including Sun Belt champion James Madison (12-1). Still, Diaz declared that the strength of the ACC should be enough to warrant a CFP berth.

"I'm not going to take anything away from James Madison," Diaz said after the Blue Devils' 27-20 win in overtime, per ESPN's David Hale. "They had a really great season. … The Sun Belt has been a really good conference in years past, but most of their top teams are having a down year. So when you start comparing strength of schedule -- you can't just look at wins and losses. It's who you play against. That's the whole point of playing a Power 4 schedule. There's a reason all these coaches are all leaving for Power 4 jobs. There's recognition that's where the best competition is. The ACC champion should go to the College Football Playoff this year and every year. And we'll be very excited to see how they rule on that tomorrow."

DUKE WINS ACC TITLE

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Duke had earned a spot in the conference championship game thanks to the ACC's fifth tiebreaker, combined win percentage of conference opponents, giving it the advantage over the other four teams who tied for second place. The scenario caused a team like Miami (10-2) to miss out on the chance to impress the CFP selection committee, and the Hurricanes now will be among the teams hoping for an at-large bid into the playoffs.

If the ACC fails to get a representative in the CFP, The Athletic's Matt Baker said it would be a "disastrous" result for the conference that goes beyond "missing out on the $4 million a conference gets per CFP participant."

"Despite the ACC's basketball roots, its future depends on football success because football drives revenue," Baker explained. "Getting left off the college football's biggest stage would further weaken the ACC's reputation as the industry braces for another potential wave of conference realignment in the 2029-32 range."

The release of the final CFP rankings is just hours away, so Duke and other ACC teams will certainly be waiting with bated breath to see if they land a spot in the 12-team field.